A Twist In The Story

I love the whole crime investigation scene; in fact, if I wasn't so squeamish I probably would have become a forensic scientist person, but alas... I'm a creative instead - it's probably better this way. Anyway, while browsing around Pinterest one day, I came across this story. You may have already read it (I have shared it before), but it's just so good I had to share it again - you know, just in case someone missed it... Apparently though, it's all fictional, but that's ok, it's still a good story with an awesomely unexpected ending; so definitely worth the read (over and over and over and over again... he he he)

A Most Bizarre Suicide

At the 1994 annual awards dinner given by the American Association for 

Forensic Science, AAFS president Don Harper Mills astounded his audience in 

San Diego with the legal complications of a bizarre death. Here is the 

story:

On 23 March 1994, the medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald Opus and 

concluded that he died from a shotgun wound to the head. Mr Opus had 

jumped from the top of a ten-story building intending to commit suicide. (He 

left a note indicating his despondency). As he fell past the ninth floor, 

his life was interrupted by a shotgun blast through a window, which killed 

him instantly. Neither the shooter nor the decedent was aware that a safety 

net had been erected just below the eighth floor level to protect some window 

washers and that Mr Opus would not have been able to complete his suicide 

anyway because of this.

Ordinarily, a person who sets out to commit suicide 

ultimately succeeds even though the mechanism might not be what he intended, is still defined as committing suicide. 

That Mr Opus was shot on the way to certain death but probably

 would not have been successful because of the safety caused the 

medical examiner to feel that he had a homicide on his hands. 

The room on 

the ninth floor from whence the shotgun blast emanated was occupied by an 

elderly man and his wife. They were arguing vigorously and he was threatening her with 

the shotgun. He was so upset that, when he pulled the trigger, he completely

missed his wife and the pellets went through the window, striking Mr Opus.

When 

one intends to kill subject A, but kills subject B in the attempt, one is 

guilty of the murder of subject B.

When confronted with the murder charge, the old 

man and his wife were both adamant that neither one knew that the shotgun 

was loaded. 

The old man said it was his long-standing habit to threaten his wife with 

the unloaded shotgun. He had no intention to murder her, therefore, the 

killing of Mr Opus appeared to be an accident. That is, the gun had been 

accidentally loaded.

The continuing investigation turned up a witness who 

saw the old couple's son loading the shotgun approximately six weeks prior 

to the fatal incident. It transpired that the old lady had cut off her son's 

financial support and the son, knowing the propensity of his father to use 

the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that his 

father would shoot his mother.

Since the loader of the gun was aware of this, he was guilty of the murder even though he didn't actually pull the trigger. The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the death of 

Ronald Opus.

And here's the exquisite twist...

Further investigation revealed 

that the son, was in fact Ronald Opus. He had become increasingly despondent over the 

failure of his attempt to engineer his mother's murder. This led him to jump 

off the ten-story building on March 23rd, only to be killed by a shotgun blast 

through a ninth story window. The son had actually murdered himself so the medical examiner closed the case as a 

suicide.